Google Search Results Promoting Froogle Receiving First Keyword Ad Position

An anonymous Murdok reader pointed out an interesting issue going on with Google’s search results. A search of the keywords “Fathers Day Gifts” finds that Google is giving a link for Froogle the first AdWords position (highlighted by a blue rectangle) in the SERP over a company that bid for the very same ranking.

Checking if a File Exists

Sometimes it is necessary to determine if a file exists using actionscript, for example when you have a preloader cue, that loads a series of .jpgs one after another, if one of the files doesnt exist then the cue wouldnt traverse any further, you could of course use a timeout in that scenario but why not just check if the file exists before loading it, so that if necessary you can move onto the next item in the cue almost instantly.

Getting Started In Information Technology Computer Consulting

One of the best things about being in the Information Technology industry is consulting. For purposes of this article I’m using the term consulting in reference to side jobs or moonlighting work. While full time Computer Consultants can also benefit from the tips in this article, I’m really writing at the IT Employee who works a full-time IT job and then takes extra jobs for extra money on the side.

Bug: Sound.loadSound & GetRight

If you have GetRight installed on your computer, a download management utility and you view a Flash movie that attempts to load an mp3 sound file into the flash player dynamically using the Sound.loadSound method, GetRight stops the loading of the mp3 file and asks you to choose a location to save the mp3 file on your local computer, whether you choose to download the file or not, flash still doesnt load the file into the player, which raises an issue.

The Difference between Paid and Organic Listings

As a business sector, the world of search is changing. Last week I wrote a piece about how Google has less decision making power than users might think as the company finds itself in a business environment that is being molded by factors outside their corporate control. The bottom line in any enterprise, regardless of the social mission associated with that enterprise is survival. In the business world, survival necessitates making money. Saying one needs to make money is a lot easier than actually making that money. Being a leader in any field does not necessarily equate to turning a profit as evidenced by the dead or dying brands Lycos, Alta Vista and Infoseek. Each of these search tools provided their users with good, relevant information but none of them could survive on their own. Each has been gobbled up by a bigger player and eventually killed or put on the “death-watch” list.

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